Take Two.

Action!

​Sometimes it takes a revelation before you can gain perspective. After becoming familiar with my new surroundings I am finally feeling as if I can gauge the direction I should be taking.

This past week was an incredible learning experience for me, both personally and professionally.

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Spring is here and I have sprung into a heap of projects. UK Dining has a lot of events as the end of the semester approaches, and I have been able to help the Wellness Assistant gear up for them. This week the Wellness Assistant and I worked on creating a sodium exhibit to display at Bowman's Den. I was in charge of coming up with games for the sugar and sodium exhibits to encourage students to interact with us.

Probably the coolest thing I learned this week was how to use Canva, which is a website devoted to creating documents.....for free......on the Internet.......without downloading a program. Holy moly, did this website just make my life so much easier. I have struggled with feeling creative in the past, but this website will make anyone look like a marketing mastermind. 

​Here are some things I have created this week:

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Produce of the Month

Another successful event of the week was our premier of asparagus as our produce of the month. The Wellness Assistant and I went to Blazer Dining and divvied up samples of Asparagus Salad, which consisted of fresh asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes, red onions, and balsamic vinaigrette.

Minutes before heading over to the event I created a handout about asparagus. You may notice it looks just like jicama, and if you happened to read the past UK Dining intern's blog then it may look a lot like her work too. That's because it is her work. My preceptor really liked the handouts her past intern offered. I also feel as though it would be better to keep the "Produce of the Month" series consistent and uniform for future use.

While working at Blazer Dining during this event I also had the pleasure of meeting the manager of the facility, who amiably agreed to assist me with my Theme Meal project. Blazer Dining is hosting a "Yummy Hummus" Limited Time Offer, which presented itself as a great opportunity to work my project into the existing infrastructure of UK Dining. I am really excited to start tackling this project so far in advance.

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Food Systems Symposium

Another very cool experience was the opportunity to attend the Food Systems Studies Symposium, a special event focused on elevating the conversation about food systems on campus. We heard from various leaders in the field about how they have worked to get people involved in creating sustainable food systems at their universities. Afterwards there was a reception with great networking opportunities, and I was happy to run into a great many of my former teachers who were excited to see me and happy to know students are getting involved!

On the second day there was a workshop at The 90, but unfortunately only one person from our Aramark department was allowed to attend. Since my preceptor was out of town the Wellness Assistant went in her place. I spent the morning working on handouts in our office, until my former professor Chef Bob came and invited me to The Food Connection where they were hosting the reception for the workshop. While I was truly invited just to eat, I had to earn my keep, of course, and ended up serving the attendees and washing dishes for a couple of hours.

I was happy to be able to meet Chef Tanya, a newly acquired asset who will be helping to get The Food Connection up and running. The Food Connection is a new concept introduced by Aramark as a means for connecting food systems and students across disciplines. Chef Tanya's extensive culinary experience is an invaluable resource for this cause. The logistics of the program are still being configured, but the state-of-the-art kitchen is designed for teaching and poses a great opportunity to get more students talking about sustainable food systems. Not to mention learning how to cook.

Chef Tanya is such a positive personality, and she offered to help me with any projects I have during the remainder of my rotation with UK Dining. I will probably seek her assistance for the Capital Planning Report. I also offered to help her wash dishes anytime!! 

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Slowly but surely I am ameliorating myself into my surroundings and discovering ways that I can be useful. It's nice to have so much to learn from so many people, and I am looking forward to looking back on this experience one day with appreciation.

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Competencies:
CRD 1.4 Evaluate emerging research for application in dietetics practice.
CRD 2.1 Practice in compliance with current federal regulations and state statutes and rules, as applicable and in accordance with accreditation standards and the Scope of Dietetics Practice and Code of Ethics for the Profession of Dietetics.
CRD 2.2 Demonstrate professional writing skills in preparing professional communications. (Tip:  Examples include research manuscripts, project proposals, education materials, policies and procedures.)
CRD 2.5 Demonstrate active participation, teamwork and contributions in group settings.
CRD 2.8 Apply leadership principles to achieve desired outcomes.
CRD 2.10 Establish collaborative relationships with other health professionals and support personnel to deliver effective nutrition services. (Tip:  Other health professionals include physicians, nurses, pharmacists, diabetes educators, health educators, etc.)
CRD 2.11 Demonstrate professional attributes within various organizational cultures. (Tip:  Professional attributes include showing initiative and proactively developing solutions, advocacy, customer focus, risk taking, critical thinking, flexibility, time management, work prioritization and work ethic.)
CRD 3.2 Demonstrate effective communications skills for clinical and customer services in a variety of formats. (Tip:  Formats include oral, print, visual, electronic and mass media methods for maximizing client education, employee training and marketing.)
CRD 4.2 Perform management functions related to safety, security and sanitation that affect employees, customers, patients, facilities and food.